Zeke and Zoey
And so it was. She was there in front of him, and he had to leave. Life is funny sometimes. It doesn’t work the way you expect it to. The path of life is rocky, dry, and twisted. But in the end, the loose ends you were sure were out of sight, the ones you were so sure you would never see again, tie up. Anyway, it didn’t start here. Let’s step back a few years. Their names were Zeke and Zoey. They were both only children with single parents, Zeke’s mom and Zoey’s dad. Zeke and Zoey’s parents dated for a short while as the two children were infants, and while their parent’s spark was simply not there, they couldn’t stay away from each other. It was a strange thing, it’s not like the babies could think or talk for themselves, but it was a phenomenon similar to imprinting. When they saw each other, they knew they wanted to be together. So their parents stayed friends for their sake, and they quickly developed a strong bond. They shared their first kiss as toddlers, and of course it was just “cute” from the parents but to them it was something more. When they were 12, Zeke’s mom told him they had to move. Now, Zeke and Zoey weren’t “together” per se at this time, but they were still inseparable. In the back of their minds, they always planned to be an item when they were older, but of course their respective significant other didn’t know that. This brings us to where we were. Zeke was about to get on the sailboat to leave Zoey forever. They were both saying their tearful goodbyes, with lots of playful “Don’t forget me” s and serious “I’ll miss you” s. “Where are you going again?” Zoey asked for the millionth time, trying to fill every last space with some question so he wouldn’t have to go. “Some island in the Caribbean, not really sure what it’s called,” Zeke answered. “Well, um…” Zoey awkwardly gave a choked laugh, “enjoy the weather.” “Yeah--yeah, I will,” Zeke replied. “Zeke!” Zeke’s mother called out. “I’ve got to go,” Zeke said, confirming Zoey’s worst fear. He was about to walk away from her but suddenly stopped and turned around. Tears falling from his eyes, without a single word, he gave her the biggest hug you could possibly give a human being. Zoey let out a little sob. Zeke turned and left. He thought he would never see her again at the time. He wasn’t completely wrong, but we’ll get to that later. It was the middle of the day, the sun was high in the sky, and the ocean was sparkling. They were sailing on the family’s boat, the S.S. Echomist. Nobody could explain where the name had come from or even where the boat had come from, it was just in the family for as long as anyone could remember. “How long will it take to get there?” Zeke asked his mom. “We’ll get there when we get there,” his mom replied, ruffling his hair in a motherly gesture. That was the single most hated answer of children, of course, but Zeke was too sad to say another word. In the end, it took them about 48 hours to land in the Caribbean, which was long by Zeke’s standards but of course not by most sailors’. When they approached land, a storm was brewing overhead. It started pouring the moment they stepped off the boat. The island wasn’t one of the main tropical paradises you imagine, but was a rather primitive sort of wilderness-taken society. Zeke hated it. Run. Run. Run. It was the only thing on Zoey’s mind. Keep running. Don’t stop running. Run for him. Run for yourself. Run to survive. Run through the desert. It had been 12 years since Zeke had left her standing there, broken and alone. When he left her, she knew she couldn’t go back to her father. Even her mind spat in distaste at the thought of him. The man—no, the monster—had no boundaries with the things he said to her, the things he did to her. There was a single piece of glue to stop her from completely falling apart. And he had ridden away from her on a sailboat. She had to find him again, had to see him again. She hadn’t been given an address, not even a country, really…just a general region. But she knew the person that could show her where he was. Ever since she had run away when he had sailed away, that’s all she could do. Run. She’d been a lot of places in 12 years and now finally had the information she needed. There was a wizard out in this desert. It sounded ridiculous, of course. The wizard meant hope to Zoey, though. As long as she knew the wizard was out there, well, he could be found. When she saw the wizard, her first reaction was disbelief. He couldn’t really be there, could he? It was a mirage, or a hallucination, or something. It was strange. She had spent half her life looking for this person, this one person in particular, and she finally found him. Yet, there was no feeling of fulfillment. She saw him and felt strangely…scared. But he saw her now. There was no turning back now. “Zoey?” he asked in a raspy voice as one greeting an old friend they almost didn’t recognize may do. His voice went perfectly with his old image; a snow-white beard and wrinkles, but it made Zoey jump to hear him jump anyway. “How do you know my name?” Zoey asked. “Oh, I’ve been expecting you,” the wizard answered. “I’ve practically been waiting here for the last, what, 4 years? It’s not easy living in the desert, you know.” “I assume you know what I want, in that case,” Zoey said, very business-like. The wizard grinned at her, but didn’t say another word and disappeared. “Hey!” Zoey cried. “Hey, I need help!” She noticed something in her hand and pulled it out. There was a note the wizard had left her. It included the latitude and longitude of an island and a short message, saying, “Your wish hasn’t been granted without a price. You have 12 hours to get him.” Zeke simply wasn’t happy. He hadn’t been ever since he moved out to the stupid Caribbean. Over the last 10 years, a large population of people had moved into his what-used-to-be desolate town. He didn’t like the crowds and the people. There was only one person Zeke wanted to see: Zoey. So today, he was going to the psychic. He was the one that could find her again. There was a busy crowd of people to work his way through, but he could do it because he was only thinking of one thing. Zeke got through the crowds and saw the big purple velvet tent with a single run-down sign that read “Psychic: Fortune Readings”. Zeke took a deep breath and stepped inside. “Hello?” he called out. There was a smell of incense in the tent and the air was heavy and unrelenting. “Madame…Zefroni?” he called again, reading the name on the wall. “Right here, boy,” an ancient voice, ready to crumble at the slightest touch, said. “I need to know where the love of my life is,” Zeke demanded urgently. “I’m going to need a name,” the old woman replied steely. “Zoey,” Zeke stated. The woman simply looked at him, then back to her crystal ball. “She’s coming this way,” Madame Zefroni said, and then widened her eyes. “Oh, no. Oh, oh, no!” “What?” Zeke asked. “What’s wrong?” “She’s too late! Run, run, run!” Madame Zefroni yelled. “Save yourself!” Suddenly, Zeke heard it too. There was a low rumbling noise. He ran outside and saw a cloud of dust coming straight towards them and lots of chaos and people running. Zeke ran as fast as he could, for he was running for dear life. Zoey was almost there. She had somehow pulled off a miracle and she was almost there, with two minutes to spare. She had to get there on time. She didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t, but she couldn’t let herself find out. She had to get there on time. She had to get to him. One minute left. 30 seconds left. She was so close, but so far—she had to get there. Row faster. Breathe harder. It’ll all be okay when you see him. So close to shore. What was that rumbling noise? 15 seconds left. 10. 5. 1. She didn’t make it. She was too late. “Zeke!” she cried. “Zoey?” she heard weakly in return. She ran towards the cry. Tears were streaming down her face now. She saw him, but it was clear he was in no good state. He was dying before her eyes. Zeke was dying because she wasn’t fast enough. It was so unfair. Life was unfair. She watched his already unseeing eyes close for the last time and wanted to die there with him. But she couldn’t. She grabbed him tight and cried until the sun went down.